CIBC Poll: Canadians expecting a Happy Financial New Year - 70 per cent feeling positive about their finances for 2013

Annual poll reveals confidence in achieving future financial goals is
higher among Canadians who have met with an advisor in the past year

TORONTO, Dec. 27, 2012 /CNW/ - A new CIBC (TSX: CM) poll conducted by
Harris/Decima shows that as Canadians approach the New Year they are
generally positive about their current financial situation, an increase
of 6 per cent from a year ago. Canadians are also confident about achieving their
future financial goals - a trend that was most prevalent among those
who have met with an advisor in the last year.

Key findings of this year's poll include:

The percentage of Canadians who say they feel positive about their
current financial situation has increased over last year, and is now
back to the levels seen in 2011:

2013

2012

2011

70%

64%

69%

Residents of Ontario (74 per cent) and the Prairies (75 per cent) were among the most positive in the country when it comes to their
current financial situation

Percentage of Canadians who say they are confident they will reach their
future financial goals:

2013

2012

2011

74%

72%

71%

Regionally, residents of the Prairies (84 per cent) and Alberta(82 per cent) were among the most confident about reaching their future financial
goals

Canadians are increasingly seeing the value in setting goals with 76 per cent saying it's more important today than it was five years ago to set
financial goals for yourself

More Canadians are also taking their own advice and setting goals for
the year with 61 per cent of respondents saying they generally set financial goals for
themselves, compared to 51 per cent two years ago

"Canadians are entering 2013 with a more positive outlook on their
finances today, and with the confidence that they can reach their long
term financial goals," said Christina Kramer, Executive Vice President,
Retail Distribution and Channel Strategy, CIBC. "The next step is to
turn that confidence into action by putting plans in place at the start
of the year that will help you make progress towards the things that
matter most to you."

The poll also revealed that one of the keys to a positive outlook on
your finances is having a discussion with a financial advisor:

Canadians who met with advisor were more likely to feel positive about
their financial situation today (77 per cent) versus those who had not met with an advisor (65 per cent).

They were also more likely to feel confident about reaching their future
goals (79 per cent vs 70 per cent).

46 per cent of Canadians said they've met with an advisor sometime in the last year

"Setting up a conversation with an advisor early in 2013 will only
require a small time investment, but as we've seen in these poll
results, the benefits can be significant," added Ms. Kramer. "One of
the immediate benefits of that conversation is that you will gain a
better understanding of where you stand today. Then you can lay out
some realistic steps to help achieve your personal financial goals."

Across age groups, confidence in achieving future financial goals was
generally strong, although there were different views among some age
groups.

For example, among Canadians aged 18-34, 73 per cent say they are confident they will reach their future financial goals - a
decline of 5 per cent from last year.

Conversely, Canadians aged 55 to 64 saw a gain in confidence entering
the new year with 75 per cent saying they are confident they will reach their future financial goalscompared tojust 68 per cent last year.

KEY POLL FINDINGS

Percentage of Canadians feeling positive about their current financial
situation today, by region:

2013

2012

2011

National Average

70%

64%

69%

Atlantic Canada

65%

61%

72%

Quebec

68%

64%

67%

Ontario

74%

66%

67%

Manitoba/Saskatchewan

75%

70%

73%

Alberta

69%

72%

73%

British Columbia

65%

54%

72%

Percentage of Canadians feeling positive about their current financial
situation today, by age:

2013

2012

2011

National Average

70%

64%

69%

18-24

69%

69%

66%

25-34

67%

58%

73%

35-44

71%

69%

68%

45-54

70%

63%

68%

55-64

69%

65%

69%

65 and over

73%

66%

70%

Percentage of Canadians who are confident they will reach their future
financial goals, by region:

2013

2012

2011

National Average

74%

72%

71%

Atlantic Canada

74%

78%

72%

Quebec

64%

60%

66%

Ontario

78%

76%

70%

Manitoba/Saskatchewan

84%

78%

69%

Alberta

82%

85%

77%

British Columbia

72%

70%

78%

Percentage of Canadians who are confident they will reach their future
financial goals, by age:

2013

2012

2011

National Average

74%

72%

71%

18-24

73%

78%

76%

25-34

74%

78%

75%

35-44

75%

74%

69%

45-54

74%

70%

71%

55-64

75%

68%

69%

65 and over

74%

70%

69%

Each week, Harris/Decima interviews just over 1000 Canadians through
teleVox, the company's national telephone omnibus survey. These data
were gathered in a sample of 2,009 Canadians between October 25th and
November 4, 2012. A sample of this size has a margin of error of
+/-2.2%, 19 times out of 20.

CIBC is a leading North American financial institution with nearly 11
million personal banking and business clients. CIBC offers a full range
of products and services through its comprehensive electronic banking
network, branches and offices across Canada, and has offices in the
United States and around the world. You can find other news releases
and information about CIBC in our Press Centre on our corporate website
at www.cibc.com.